American Idol (season 3)
The third season of American Idol premiered on January 11, 2017. The season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. On the May 18 finale, Olivia Guerrero was announced as the third American Idol over fellow finalist Imani Sparks. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Tallahassee, Oklahoma City, and Detroit. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2016 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2017, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 9, 2017. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 14, 2017. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. Semi-finalists Females *'Jenna Randolph', 24 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in St. Petersburg, FL. Randolph originally auditioned for the first and second seasons, but was cut in the Hollywood rounds for both seasons. *'Sierra Anzaldua', 26 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Eugene, OR. *'Cassidy Morrow', 22 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Reno, NV. *'Sutton Brookes', 17 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Carlsbad, CA. Brookes originally auditioned in Season 2, and was cut during Hollywood week. *'Caroline Irion', 21 years old, auditioned in Oklahoma City, and currently resides in Fayetteville, AR. She is the sister of fellow semi-finalist Ethan Irion, and as well Paige Irion, who failed to advance past Hollywood week. *'Mia Moreira', 18 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in Decatur, GA. Males *'Ethan Irion', 19 years old, auditioned in Oklahoma City, and currently resides in Fayetteville, AR. He is the brother of fellow semi-finalist Caroline Irion, and auditioned with her and his other sister Paige. *'Shawn Weaver', 28 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Lafayette, LA. *'Aaron Rhyne', 19 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Santa Clara, CA. *'Diego Sao', 22 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Denver, CO. *'Chase Nolasco', 27 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in Tallahassee, FL. *'Travis David', 23 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Nashville, TN. 'Top 24' Theme: 80's Females Males 'Top 20' Theme: Billboard Number 1's Females Males 'Top 16' Theme: Backstreet Boys vs NSYNC Females Males Finals Finalists The 12 finalists were announced on March 2, 2017. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *'Olivia Guerrero', 20 years old, auditioned in Seattle, and currently resides in Kerman, CA. On May 18, 2017, Guerrero was announced as the winner, becoming the third American Idol. *'Imani Sparks', 20 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Cookeville, TN. On May 18, 2017, Sparks finished as the runner up. *'Willa Selders', 18 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Little Rock, AR. On May 11, 2017, Selders was eliminated from American Idol, placing third. *'Jessica Cunningham', 19 years old, auditioned in Atlanta, and currently resides in Saint Louis, MO. On May 4, 2017, Cunningham was eliminated from American Idol, placing fourth. *'Derrick Calderwood', 27 years old, auditioned in Detroit, and currently resides in Linden, NJ. On April 27, 2017, Calderwood was eliminated from American Idol, placing fifth. *'Jared Vasquez', 26 years old, auditioned in Oklahoma City, and currently resides in Lafayette, LA. On April 20, 2017, Vasquez was eliminated from American Idol, placing sixth. *'Antwan Robinson', 24 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in Pompano Beach, FL. On April 13, 2017, Robinson was eliminated from American Idol, placing seventh. *'Mai DeRosa', 17 years old, auditioned in Boston, and currently resides in Arlington, VA. On April 6, 2017, DeRosa was eliminated from American Idol, placing eighth. *'Trey Tafoya', 21 years old, auditioned in Houston, and currently resides in El Paso, TX. On March 30, 2017, Tafoya was eliminated from American Idol, placing ninth. *'Lorenzo Ramirez', 18 years old, auditioned in Tallahassee, and currently resides in Clover, SC. On March 23, 2017, Ramirez was eliminated from American Idol, placing tenth. *'Kasen Reilly', 23 years old, auditioned in Houston, and currently resides in Irving, TX. Reilly is the younger brother of Kane Reilly, the first American Idol. Reilly also auditioned in seasons 1 and 2, where he was cut in the Hollywood rounds. On March 16, 2017, Reilly was eliminated from American Idol, placing eleventh. *'Ella Fleming', 22 years old, auditioned Atlanta, and currently resides in Manteo, NC. On March 9, 2017, Fleming was eliminated from American Idol, placing twelfth. Top 12 – Lennon-McCartney Songbook Top 11 – Country Top 10 – Prince Top 9 – Year They Were Born Top 8 – Classic 80's Rock Top 7 – Inspirational Songs Mentor: Alicia Keys Top 6 – Hits from 2016 Mentor: Adam Levine Top 5 – Neil Diamond Mentor: Neil Diamond Top 4 – Taylor Swift vs Ed Sheeran Mentor: Ed Sheeran & Taylor Swift Top 3 – Judge's choice / Producer's choice / Contestant's choice Top 2 – Contestant's choice / Previous song / Winner's single Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.